Improvement in portable rick-covers



W. FITZGERALD.

P-ortahl Rick-flowers.

Pat ente'd june 24,1873.

Fig. 2.

WITNESSES I I INVENTOR Y%/4W. #V iffig zoa JOSEPH W. FITZGERALD, OF JERSEYVILLE, ILLINOIS. I

IMPROVEMENT IN PORTABLE RICK-COVERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. EdGJQY, dated-June 24, 1873; application filed May 14, 1873. V

To all whom t't'may concerm' Beit known that I, JOSEPH W. FITZGERALD, of Jerseyville, in the county of'Jersey, and State of Illinois, have invented a new and Improved Portable RicleGover, and 1' do hereby declare that the following is a full. and ex act description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters of reference markedthereon. I

The invention herein described, relates to an improvement in the construction of wooden portable roofs for the protection of wheatstacks, hay-ricks, &c., against rain or snow, and at once furnishes a cheap, easily constructed, light, thoroughly water-proof, and durable covering, which-by certain peculiarities in its construction admits of easy adaptation to almostany ordinary form of stack; and further, as will be hereinafter seen, it can be easily increased or diminished in size as circumstances may require.

In the accompanying drawing,'Figure 1 is aperspective view of the roof; Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same.

A A, Fig.1, represent pieces of board cut somewhat triangular in form to the upperedges of which are nailed boards, (preferably six-inch siding) the lower edges overlapping the upper edges of the next boards below them, as shown in the drawing. This constitutes as will be seen the central frame of the roof,.to' the sides of which are suspended by flexible rods or wires 1), b,- Fig. 2, flaps B, B, consisting of boards similar to those-'ibrming the central frame.

In regard to the manner of attaching these boards together, it will be seen that each board is provided with staples-e, e, at a convenient distance from each end, and as far from the lower edge as the boards are intended to overlap. The lower ends of the suspension-wires b 11, &c, are now passed through the staples in the bottom boards, and turned back so as to form hooks for the support of what may be termed the first board. The staples e e, in the next board are then passed over the upper ends of the suspension-rods, and made to slide down the latter untilthey rest upon the upper edge of the first board, the lower edge of each board being thus made to overlap the upper.

edge of the board immediately below it; the amount of overlap being governed by the distance from the edge of each'bo" d at which the staples are inserted.

which the upper ends of the suspension-rods are passed.

To secure the flaps to the central frame, the upper'ed'ge of the last board is slipped under the edge of; the outer board of the central "frame, andthe ends of the suspension-rods turned back and passed through the staples m m provided for their reception. The ends of the suspensionrodsare then bent in form of hooks, as shown in the drawingat 19,10,

Both sides of the roof are constructed and. put together in the same manner. Thus the flaps are substantially secured in the required position, and yet,owing to the flexibility ot the suspension rods, and the peculiar manner in which the flaps are attached thereto, they adapt themselves perfectly to the shape and width of the stack.

It will be observed thatthe little labor involved in the-construction of this roof is of so simple a character'that it can be performed by almost any person of ordinary intelligence; hence the cost of the roofis but little beyond that of the material of whichit is composed. As the flaps can be so easily increased or minished in length according to the number of boards used, or even if so preferred, hooked together at their upper'edges and used without the central frame, it follows that it can be made available for a wide range of purposes upon a farm.

\Vhen the roof is of ordinary length, two suspension rods on each side are found suitic'icnt; but for a roof of extra length, three, or

Witnesses:

L. D. CORY, J. O. CUM INGS. 

